Do More (Kony 2012)

I just wanted to address what everybody has been talking about the past couple of days: Kony. With that said, I introduce you to NPR, children— a sort of PBS station for your ears:

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/08/148235383/fact-checking-the-kony-2012-viral-video

This interview was with Michael Wilkerson, a freelance journalist who has lived and reported in Uganda.

I’ve read the interview (although you can listen to it on NPR’s website as well) before I decided to watch the video.

I’ve also read the negative comments calling Invisible Children a fraud and have watched the video about the Ugandan girl and her dislike for the filmmaker (who has the cutest fucking kid ever, I might add). And of course, people will take what she says as the whole truth without any perspective. Also, I’d like to add that I don’t believe they are a fraud. I think calling for awareness is a power to be reckoned with, but this video has gone viral with up to 43k views. Your job of making Kony famous is technically done.

So now what? Tumblr kids always baffle me. Wanting to make a difference. Thinking that a simple like or reblog is going to change a thing. Yes, I said that awareness is a power to be reckoned with, but that’s only half of the equation. The other is action. Without action, what have you really done? So if you truly would like to help anyone, then take action. Take note from Invisible Children and Youtube stars like KevJumba and go volunteer your time and help make schools in Africa. Although, if you can’t find it in yourself to submerge yourself in a project that uproots you and takes you away from home, start in your own backyard. I live in Los Angeles. About 50+ thousand people in our county are homeless. A little less than half (23k) of those people are in the city of Los Angeles alone.

If you’re a teenager, or anyone, who follows me and is wondering what you can do:
Go out and volunteer at a local shelter. Get a group together to pack sack lunches and give them to homeless people in an area you know has a lot of homeless people. When you go out to eat and see a homeless person standing at the door, order something extra to go and hand it to him.

In the whole spectrum of things this may seem to help but a tiny, tiny part of it. But personally, I believe the things we don’t do everyday— like passing a homeless guy on the street without giving him a dollar, or whatever— can easily be dealt with because we’re in a place to see these actions through.

As said in the NPR interview, “Kony is a monster and deserves to be tried.” You all want to help make a better world and bring these “invisible” children to light.
But who are those “invisible” people in your own everyday life? Who will help them and how will they be helped?

Ghandi said it best: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

So my piece of advice for today? Do more. Help more. Then maybe you’ll truly see the change made by your own actions.

♥

Be Brave.

At a young age I learned not to listen to bullies or what others had to say about me. Not just because I may have been a bit of a bully myself, but also because I knew that I truly was my own worst critic. What others had to say was minuscule to what I had to say about myself. My personal demons were more scary than anyone else I knew.

I also learned at a young age that I don’t like crying in front of people because it makes me feel weak. I was 8 years old when my grandpa died. I didn’t even cry at his funeral. I couldn’t help but think I had to be strong for everyone else around me. Especially my grandma. That if I had cried, it would just make everyone more sad and make everything worse.

Now, I’m about to be 21 and I still refuse to cry in front of anybody if I can help it.

People say, “You’re only as weak as you are strong.”

And personally, as I’ve said many times before, I like to fancy myself Super Woman. I know how far I have to go to be at my lowest because I know who I am when I’m at my best.

But I’ve been thinking. It’s not always necessarily strength that keeps us motivated to keep going and to continue on this sometimes sick road called “life.” It’s the courage instilled in us that is more important. Sometimes it’s what’s most important. Not the strength that holds us together, but the courage that we have to not give up on ourselves. The bravery to not succumb to our personal demons.

So my piece of advice for today? Be strong, but most importantly have courage. You’re always worth it, so never give up on yourself— regardless of how tough things may get.

♥

Know love.

Over the weekend was a mini marathon of performances, work, family parties, and a 3+ hour funeral for my Uncle George. Unfortunately I never knew much about my Uncle. But, I do know he and I had the same birthday, he was a pastor, he was about the same age as my grandpa. My Uncle George was the pastor who married my parents, he was the pastor at my grandparent’s 50th anniversary, and he also spoke at my grandpa’s funeral.

He was most definitely a man committed to his work. He loved his job. He loved God. He also loved his wife. He and my Auntie Carol were ALWAYS together— This fact alone was what caused my dad’s classmates to say that it was so “devastating” that he passed away because it hit my aunt really hard. They even went as far as to say that they should’ve spent more time apart so that it wouldn’t hurt so bad when the other one passes.

Losing a loved one is ALWAYS hard— and I can only imagine that if you lose your husband or wife, it’d be beyond that. I understand why my dad’s classmates said what they said. But in truth, it’s better to have known love than to not have known it at all. And I’ve always felt that if you’re going to love, then you should love fully—Whether it be for the next week or for the next 60 years. Commit to it. Lose yourself in it.

So my piece of advice for today? Live fully, love wholly, and regret nothing.

♥

“That’s a challenge, little girl.”

I haven’t done a “piece of advice” post in a while, but the other day my parents took a few of my parent’s friends and their families out to lunch. I was talking to my Kuya Don’s wife, whose name I can’t remember, and she asked me the usual questions: “Where am I going to school”, “What’s my major”, and “What I want to do with it.” When I told her I was majoring in Occupational Therapy, she instantly went on this rant about her friend who’s a traveling OT. And to answer her question of what I wanted to do, I told her that I wanted to open a home for autistic children. She looked at me like I was insane and just said, “That’s a challenge, little girl.”

Hell, don’t I know it’s going to be a challenge. I’m not even 100% sure it’s what I want to do. I know I want to be an OT. I know I want to work with kids. I know I want to work with special ed kids. But regardless of what I do, what I essentially want to do in the field will be challenging.

So my piece of advice for today? Regardless of how small you may be and how big the challenges you may face are, don’t be afraid. Your world isn’t as small as you may think. What you’re capable of is far more extensive and far greater than what you THINK you’re capable of. Take what comes your way a single step at a time and you’ll do just fine.

♥

Keep on fighting.

-lovela:

“I’m a lover, not a fighter.” I don’t really agree with that quote and I wouldn’t call myself much of a lover. Every day we should fight for what we believe in. Fight for what we want to keep in our lives; fight for WHO we want to keep in our lives. Fight for what you’re passionate about. Every day, we fight— or at least every day we should. Never sit back and allow things to happen to you. Because although you have no power over what has already happened, you have some power over what’s to come.

So my piece of advice for today? Keep fighting. Don’t stop— and if it’s love you want, fight for it. Don’t let go. But always be a fighter and never give up.

♥

“There are plenty of fish in the sea.”